Austrian Qualifying Round 9

Rosberg and Vettel on the back foot

Mercedes’s Nico Rosberg had a dramatic final practice where he got onto the “baguette” kerbs and his left rear wishbone on his suspension broke which sent him onto the grass and into the barrier. Rosberg, was unhurt but the car was damaged. His team are trying to fix the car in time for Q1. The impact had damaged the gearbox and a new one was needed and will take a 4 place grid drop. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel will take a 5 place grid drop for changing his gearbox as the one he had failed.

Q1

Renault’s Jolyon Plamer is first on track as rain looks to be on the way during Q2. Manor’s Pascal Wehrlein is the first to set a lap time of a 1:08:700. With 14 minutes left to go in the session, Lewis Hamilton puts his first lap in of a 1:07:014. With 10 minutes left to go, Nico Rosberg is on track after the team has fixed the car after the crash. Impressive stuff! Force India’s Sergio Perez is slowing on the track and a replay shows that he has a suspension problem with the right rear wishbone. He makes it back to the garage. With 7 minutes to go, Nico Rosberg pops in the fastest time of the session on a 1:06:690. With under 2 minutes to go, Torro Rosso Daniil Kvyat runs too wide at turn 8, breaks the right rear suspension and sends him spins into the barriers to the pit lane and then to the turn 9 barriers. He is out, that brings out the red flag with 1 minutes and 44 seconds to go. Just before Kvyat crashed. Manor’s Pascal Wehrlein posted a great time to get him out of the drop-zone and into P9. Kvyat’s car is cleared and drivers head back out for 1 flying lap. Just 1 minute to go, Torro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz engine gives up and there is smoke out the back. Rosberg ends the session quickest ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.

Q2

Pascal Wehrlein is the first car out on track with the chance of rain is high. Nico Hulkenberg is under investigation for failing to slow down for yellow flags with 14 minutes to go. Nico Rosberg posts the quickest time of the session and goes top of the leader board with a 1:06:403. It is confirmed that Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz will not run in this session due to their incidents with their cars in Q1. The time counts down and the surprise of the session is that McLaren’s Jenson Button has reached Q3 for the first time this year and the first time since Abu Dhabi 2014.

Q3

The cars are on intermediates as the track is wet. With 8 minutes to go, Nico Rosberg sets the banker lap of a 1:19:548. With the track drying very slowly, pole position is anyone’s today. With 5 minutes to go, Lewis Hamilton leads ahead of Nico Rosberg and Daniel Ricciardo. Nico Hulkenberg ventures out on the Ultrasoft tyre and is quickly followed by everyone else as the track is drying. Hulkenberg comes round on his first lap and is on provisional pole with 1 minute to go. Lewis Hamilton comes round and snatches pole of Hulkenberg with 20 seconds to go. Hulkenberg then snatches pole again with 10 seconds to go but Hamilton comes round and takes pole position with a 1:07:922. Hamilton is on pole ahead of Rosberg and Hulkenberg.